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The two main reasons Mourinho WON'T lose dressing room at Chelsea

Johan Cruyff is wrong about his comments on Mourinho losing the dressing room at Stamford Bridge and here's why.

Barcelona legend Johan Cruyff has criticised Jose Mourinho for being overly focused on results and has suggested that the Portuguese boss could lose the dressing room at Stamford Bridge.

“It’s always the same with him. When things are going well, it's the result of his good work, but the players are to blame when things are going badly. He already lost the dressing room at Real Madrid because of that and I can see the same happen at Chelsea,” said the Dutchman.

However, there are two very obvious reasons Cruyff is wrong and they come in the form of John Terry and Frank Lampard.

Mourinho has a great relationship with the senior players at his club, which is important because the demise of Andre Villas-Boas at Stamford Bridge was reportedly because of his relationship with key individuals in the dressing room.

Terry and Lampard are two examples of players who would run over hot coals for the Portuguese coach and two players who hold a lot of influence in the Blues dressing room.

In the case of Lampard, the prospect of Mourinho returning to Stamford Bridge for a second spell in charge of the side was enough to stop him from committing to a move to go and play for LA Galaxy in the MLS.

The reason it’s vital for any manager to establish a positive relationship with senior players is because they’re the individuals that youngsters and new players coming into a club look up to.

They have influence because they are approached and seen as authority figures by individuals who are settling in at a club, learning the ropes or players who generally need someone to confide in.

Mourinho didn’t enjoy a similar relationship with his senior players in Spain and that instantly created problems, linked in with the fact the pro-Madridista press took any chance they could to criticise him and play down his achievements at Los Blancos.

Lewis Doe

Lewis Doe is a freelance writer and editor who seeks to bring you the biggest, smallest and most interesting stories from the football world. Lewis has previously written for some of the biggest football news and opinion sites in the world including FootballFanCast and Goal.com International. Lewis is also experienced writing in the betting industry and aims to deliver his stories with up to date factual and statistical information. He hopes to sum up stories for the site and provide an angle on the issue moving forward.Lewis is HITC Sport's La Liga correspondent.